


The Woman Who Would Be King

by Elsin



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Rigel Black Series - murkybluematter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Esports, Alternate Universe - QZGS Fusion, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen, Inspired by The Rigel Black Chronicles, Rigel Black Chronicles Masquerade 2021
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:33:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28808913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elsin/pseuds/Elsin
Summary: Rigel Black walks away from Team Hogwarts. Harriet Potter walks into the Dancing Phoenix. These two events are not as disconnected as they might at first appear.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 75
Collections: Rigel Black Chronicles Masquerade 2021





	The Woman Who Would Be King

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Rime for running this event!

Rigel handed over her account card without a fight. There wasn’t any point fighting this. If she tried, she’d surely lose, and she could admit—to herself, at least—that she was tired. Not of Glory, never of Glory, but playing Glory wasn’t the only thing she had to do as a part of Team Hogwarts. And she’d never really cared much for politics.

Maybe now, she could get a bit of rest.

Pansy followed her out of the room, hovering at her elbow as she walked towards the exit.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked. “I mean, I’m sure there’s _something_ we can do, it isn’t too late.”

“It’s alright, Pans,” Rigel said, giving her a small smile. “I’ll rest for a year, then come back.”

“If you’re sure,” said Pansy. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”

Rigel sighed. “They’ve made up their minds,” she said. “And I mean—it’s not as if they’re wrong. I’m _not_ particularly profitable to have around, and you know what our ranking is this season. ‘Famous camera-shy recluse who won’t even let them broadcast his _voice’_ only takes you so far, after all.”

“I better hear from you soon,” Pansy said instead of directly replying. “You know you can count on me for anything, right, Rigel?”

“I know,” she said.

There was a brief embrace after that, and then Rigel turned and walked out into the night.

-0

[HpHpHp]

-0

Of course, telling Pansy that she was fine with all this was one thing. Convincing _herself_ of it was another thing entirely.

She’d always thought that, if she had to leave Hogwarts on someone else’s terms, it would be because they’d found out one or more of her secrets. She hadn’t truly expected them to _replace_ her as captain before her contract was up—though really it shouldn’t have been a surprise. On some level, it _wasn’t._ That didn’t mean it didn’t sting, though.

The problem really was, of course, that she just wasn’t profitable enough. Never had been, never would be. And nothing she was willing to do would change that.

Cold air bit at her nose and fingers, and she hastily shoved her hands into her pockets. She hadn’t expected it to be snowing out here.

_Not like you bothered to even look out the window,_ a voice in the back of her head pointed out. _Could’ve saved yourself some trouble if you had._

She pushed the thoughts aside and went on down the street, walking away from the life of Rigel Black and his famous character, Shadowed Star.

No longer would she be the Battle God. No longer would she be part of Team Hogwarts.

Another voice rang in her head.

_“Worlds on the other side,”_ a memory of Archie whispered to her, and so she kept on, walking down the street into the snowy night.

-0

[HpHpHp]

-0

If someone had asked her about it, Harry would have quite honestly told them that she picked the Dancing Phoenix Internet Café for two reasons. One: she was cold and it was open. Two: when it came down to it, she… really did not have that many marketable skills. She was twenty-five years old and her career, up ‘til this point, had been _pro gamer—_ and it wasn’t like she could even really advertise that fact. Not exactly what anyone was looking for in a new hire, but the Dancing Phoenix said it was in need of a night manager and she figured she could probably get that sort of job without much in the way of credentials.

So she stepped in, out of the cold, and handed over her ID so she could get assigned a computer. It was easy enough to do.

There was only one problem: when she got to her assigned computer, someone was already sitting there, playing Glory. He was a few years older than her, she thought, and playing a launcher. He was also losing—Harry winced, seeing the opening he hadn’t noticed himself—and soon after that he’d been defeated.

The man looked up at her. “Your computer now?”

“Yeah,” she said, and he nodded, getting up and stepping away. Harry slid into his abandoned seat.

He walked away. Harry properly took in the screen for the first time and muttered a curse under her breath. It seemed he’d forgotten to log out, and his next match had already started.

Now, Shadowed Star was a battle mage rather than a launcher, but that wasn’t going to stop her from winning the guy’s match for him. It was the least she could do, after kicking him out of his seat. Harry flexed her cold-stiffened hands once, then placed them on the keyboard and mouse.

-0

[LhLhLh]

-0

When Marek’s call alerted him that he’d neglected to log out properly, Leo turned around to go back to his computer, not sure what he was expecting to see.

He definitely wasn’t expecting to see the dark-haired newcomer deftly winning the match for him, in what couldn’t have been more than a minute, though.

“Sorry,” said the newcomer in a light voice. “Your match had already started—didn’t want to leave you hanging. Here.” They handed Leo his account card.

“How long did that take you?” he asked after a moment.

“Forty seconds, maybe?” The newcomer shrugged. “My hands are too cold to do it any faster just now. Could’ve done it in thirty or so, otherwise.”

“Right,” said Leo. “Well, thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” said the newcomer.

Leo turned to return to the front desk, pondering those words. He was pretty good at Glory—if he did say so himself—but this person was on a whole other level, he was certain. Couldn’t be any of the high-profile pros, since they’d be smarter than to come to a place like this, where people were much more likely to recognize them. _Could_ be, in theory, the enigmatic Rigel Black, but that didn’t seem all too likely either.

“Say,” he said to Solom, who was manning the desk tonight, “you don’t happen to recognize our dark-haired friend over there, do you?”

“Can’t say I’ve seen her before,” said Solom. “She left her ID, though, if you’re going back that way.”

Apparently, the newcomer was named _Harriet Potter._ Not likely to be Black, then, unless she’d spent the past seven years lying about her identity and gender for some unfathomable reason.

“Here,” he said when he swung back that way, handing Harriet her ID. “You left this at the front desk, Harriet.”

She wrinkled her nose a little, accepting it and looking up at him with startling green eyes. “Harriet is a bit much, don’t you think? Just Harry, please. And thanks.”

“Very well then,” he said. “Just Harry it is.”

Harry shook her head. “You seem to know how things work around here,” she said. “Do you know who I should talk to if I’m interested in the night manager position?”

Leo blinked, admittedly caught a little off guard by the sudden change in subject. “That would be me,” he said after a moment, “since the Phoenix is my café.”

“Is the position still open, then?” she asked. “I think I’m qualified for it.”

“It is,” said Leo. “Are you doing anything? I can show you around the place if you aren’t, so we can see if we get on at all.”

It was Harry’s turn to blink in surprise. “That fast,” she said.

He shrugged. “I’m usually a pretty good judge of character,” he said, “and you seem like a reasonable sort. Now, are you coming or not?”

-0

[HpHpHp]

-0

The Dancing Phoenix was bigger than she’d first realized, with many more computers than she’d thought it had when she came in, but it still felt cozy without being claustrophobic.

“Welcome to the Court, Harry,” he said when the tour was over.

She raised her eyebrows.

“Inside joke.” He shrugged. “You’ll catch on soon enough, I expect. Anyway, you’ll start working tomorrow night, but if you want to take advantage of employee computer privileges you can do that tonight. You’re joining the tenth server?”

“Tenth—oh. Yes,” Harry said. “I’ll be there.” She hadn’t thought about it before, but in less than an hour Glory’s tenth server would be opening, and she had an account card. “You can transfer level one accounts, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good,” she said. “Won’t have to get a new card, then.”

“Your account is only level one?” Leo sounded surprised, and she couldn’t blame him, not after he’d seen how fast she finished his fight for him.

She shrugged. “I gave my main card away,” she said. “This one is only level one.” She pulled the card from her pocket to show him.

“First edition, huh.” He sounded a little impressed, and Harry gave a small smile.

“I’ve been playing for nearly ten years,” she said.

“That’s some dedication.”

“I just like the game,” she said. “I don’t know what’s so strange about that.”

Leo laughed. “You’ll fit right in here in the Phoenix,” he said. “Go on, claim a station for yourself. Get settled in. You don’t have any responsibilities yet, after all.”

“Thanks,” said Harry, and off she went.

-0

[HpHpHp]

-0

When midnight came and the tenth server launched, Harry slid her account card into the login device, and for the first time in years someone signed in to Glory as Glaurung.

Rest (more or less) for a year, then come back. She’d told Pansy that was her plan, and she’d meant it.

She would get through this firestorm and find stars on the other side—no, not stars.

There would be _worlds_ on the other side.

**Author's Note:**

> pansy is a ~~fake~~ former warriors fan who ~~cannot fucking type~~ was betrayed by autocorrect while trying to type Rigel's name as Shadowstar.


End file.
